Wisdom

You’ve probably heard of, been inspired by or influenced by TED in some way. TED, standing for Technology, Entertainment and Design is an innovative and thought provoking non-profit global organisation that hosts conferences, talks and online seminars, bringing together the world’s top thought leaders, industry experts and pioneers. Motivating, ground-breaking and unique, TED’s tagline is ‘ideas worth sharing’ so we thought we’d share with you some of their wise and fascinating videos that relate to businesses and start-ups.

The Unexpected Benefit of Celebrating Failure

Entrepreneur, author and inventor, Astro Teller states: “Great dreams aren’t just visions. They’re visions coupled to strategies for making them real.” The leader of X, a semi-secret research facility created by Google, takes viewers on a journey deep inside the ‘Moonshot Factory’ where his talented team use science and technology- and risk and exploration- to provide concrete solutions to the world’s biggest problems. Failure is simply part of the process and needs celebrating just like all parts of our ‘business journey’.

TED’s Secret to Great Public Speaking

Some people can captivate crowds and almost compel them to buy into a belief, idea or product, others are less convincing. Whilst there’s no easy shortcut to public speaking, many accomplished business owners will have to speak publicly at some point, yet it’s understandable that everyone can battle with anxiety and nerves. Successful TED Curator, Chris Anderson, who has a wealth of experience in journalism, shares his top tip on how to master public speaking and four ways to make it work to your advantage. You may have a brilliant business idea but what’s the point if you can’t get your voice noticed and heard?

How to get Back to Work After a Career Break

You would be forgiven for dismissing internships as something ambitious, yet inexperienced, young people undertake, but Carol Fishman Cohen, CEO and co-founder of iReaunch– The return to work experts- reckons they should be embraced following a career break. Internships could broaden your horizons, be enriching, even enhance your original position or simply make your transition back into the work place more seamless. Here she discusses her personal experience re-entering the workforce and how employers are adapting the way they engage with people re-entering the job scene.

How a Start-up in the White House is Changing Business As Usual

Entrepreneur Haley Van Dyck certainly has plenty of experience on being pioneering and thinking outside the box to draw upon in this interesting video. In 2014 she helped launch the U.S Digital Service in the White House. Since then she has progressed to putting a team of tech specialists together who have enhanced the user experience and reliability of country’s most vital digital services. The team is already making a difference to the services that mean most to the public, from healthcare to immigration to veterans’ benefits and how they operate. Of her team she says: “We don’t care about politics, we care about making government work better, because it’s the only one we’ve got.”

Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator

Procrastinating, especially if you want to grow your business, often garners a negative and disapproving reputation. Animated and popular blogger Tim Urban delivers a light-hearted yet insightful talk on the wonders of procrastination, sharing his own experiences and encouraging us to think more carefully about what we’re really procrastinating on, before we run out of time. Read his blog ‘Wait But Why’ here.

The Gospel of Doubt

To thrive in business you need to have self-belief. Not many people possess this gift of confidence but to take your business forward it’s a vital ingredient to success. In a wider context, writer, speaker, and business leader, Casey Gerald imparts his wisdom in a moving account of how his religion failed him, and when he tried to fill the void in his life with faith in business, politics and philanthropy, they too failed him. Here, the founder and CEO of MBAs Across America urges us to embrace the unknown and question our beliefs.

How to Make a Profit While Making a Difference

Being a big deal in business isn’t all about hard line, black and white numbers and targets. According to sustainable investment expert Audrey Choi, individuals own almost half of all global capital, giving them (including business owners like you!) the power to make a difference by investing in companies that champion social values and sustainability. In this interesting video, the CEO of Morgan Stanley’s Institute for Sustainable Investing and Managing Director and Head of Morgan Stanley’s Global Sustainable Finance Group explores how global capital markets can become triggers of social change.

10 Ways to Have a Better Conversation

Whether you have the gift of the gab working in sales or a way with words as a business leader, no matter what sector or role you operate in, you need to be able to hold engaging, meaningful conversations with people in order to propel business forward, succeed and grow. Most of us, whether we’re shy or complete chatterboxes, don’t converse very well, points out established radio show host, Celeste Headlee. Here the writer and host of daily news/talk show, ‘On Second Thought‘, shares her top gems for quality conversation adding: “Go out, talk to people, listen to people and, most importantly, be prepared to be amazed.”

How I Turned a Deadly Plant into a Thriving Business

Entrepreneurial spirit can be found in the most surprising places, it just takes one person to spot an opportunity. Innovative green entrepreneur, Achenyo Idachaba shares her powerful story of how she took the water hyacinth- an unassuming plant responsible for clogging waterways, stopping trade, interrupting schooling and disrupting everyday life- and produced woven handicrafts from it. Under her female owned enterprise, MitiMeth, she also produces products using agro-waste and other non-timber resources prevalent in Nigeria.

The Surprising Habits of Original Thinkers

Having an edge in business means being creative and original. But how do these imaginative people become blessed with fountains of ideas? Organisational psychologist, professor Adam Grant, who is also the author of the ground-breaking novel ‘Give and Take’, reveals three surprising tenancies original thinkers have stating: “The greatest originals are the ones who fail the most, because they’re the ones who try the most. You need a lot of bad ideas in order to get a few good ones.”

Two Reasons Companies Fail and How To Avoid Them

Have you ever tried to relaunch or re-brand your business as the same time as running it? Astute, business strategist, Knut Haanaes, a Senior Partner at Boston Consulting Group’s (BCG) Geneva office and Global Leader of BCG’s Strategy Practice, believes striking a balance between improving on what we already know and embracing completely new ideas is a hallmark of a great organisation. Here he outlines two major business strategy traps.